Lakeview Terrace

Ever since he retreated from his trenchant analyses of the battle of the sexes into more mainstream fare, Hollywood has yet to find a place for Neil LaBute. "Nurse Betty" (2000) was an enjoyable trifle, but after high-profile flops like the remake of "The Wicker Man," LaBute has yet to find his niche.

Initially, last year's "Lakeview Terrace" showed the same promise for astute exploration of social groups and their conflicts demonstrated in the filmmaker's earlier "In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends and Neighbors." However, while the first two acts of "Terrace" manage to be both enjoyable and thought-provoking, the third act collapses into an unhinged mess of a potboiler.

As married couple Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington) move into their first home on Lakeview Terrace, they find themselves in the crosshairs of their intimidating next door neighbor, Abel (Samuel L. Jackson), an LAPD cop. Abel is perturbed by the couple's liberal lifestyle, especially the fact that Chris is white and Lisa is black. Chris and Lisa try to befriend Abel but, after several unpleasant encounters and a rash of sabotage on their new house, the tension between the neighbors only escalates.

The real anchor of "Terrace" is Jackson, whose performance as Abel provides both the style and substance of the film. Jackson brings his typical scenery-chewing panache to the project, but he also gives Abel a complex personality which, in lesser hands, would have devolved into a maniacal cartoon. Abel's chilly relationship with his two children, Celia (Regine Nehy) and Marcus (Jaishon Fisher), exposes the intensity and complexity underlying the character's rage: he is a single father driven to extremes by a strong paternal instinct combined with antiquated ideas threatened by changing times.

Chris and Lisa's relationship represents that threat, giving Abel something on which he can hinge his anger. Abel believes Chris attempts to hide the lightness of his skin by marrying a black woman and listening to rap music. With Abel, the script creates an interesting role reversal: Jackson plays the part normally reserved for aging white people, voicing a mix of the bigotry and morality of the past and forcing it on younger people who have moved away from his ideals. The conflict between Abel and Chris/Lisa represents what happens when old values and new values clash, brought to extremes.

Unfortunately, the movie sacrifices its prying commentary right when it was at its most interesting. Just as Abel reveals an interracial affair might have led to the death of his wife, "Terrace" abandons all pretense of intellect and dissolves into a poorly plotted thriller. Abel, once an unlikable but captivating shade of grey, becomes an underwritten, completely despicable villain, while Chris transforms into an implausible everyman action hero. Instead of ending with the intrigue it initially held, "Terrace" goes through an undignified climax and pat resolution with an unwelcome happy ending tacked on.

There was true potential for greatness in "Terrace," making the loss of its unique insights on race relations during the film's running time all the more unfortunate. Few character studies are as indelible as the movie's depiction of Abel, and the dramatic tension Chris and Lisa experience is palpable until the movie enters the realm of stupidity. LaBute nearly crafted a niche for himself with "Terrace" as a purveyor of thrillers supported by smart, incisive social commentary. It's just a pity this film gave in so much to the former while diminishing the latter.